


Recovery

by Gears112, phantomthief_fee



Series: Drew World [7]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-03-23 17:23:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13792506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gears112/pseuds/Gears112, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Everyone begins the long road to recovery after Joey's shenanigans.





	1. Chapter 1

The next day found everyone gathered at the hospital. Wally and Joshua were awake by this point and both were rather disoriented. As soon as Shawn had gotten wind of Wally appearing again, he’d dropped everything and rushed over to the hospital. He hadn’t left Wally’s bedside since arriving. A few nurses had tried to shoo him out, but he would not be budged whatsoever. Sammy was also admitted due to suffering a similar fate to Wally, although he was mostly coherent. Nancy was checked out, her family gathered with her, while everyone gathered in the hospital room the former Drew World employees were being housed in. 

“So we all agree we’re not going back, right?” Cordelia said. 

“I’m getting a restraining order against him,” Sammy muttered, sinking lower into the hospital bed. 

“That’s not a bad idea,” Shawn said. “I might do that myself.”

“I never want to see Joey’s face again,” Wally whispered, clinging to Shawn’s arm at the thought of Joey Drew. Cordelia pursed her lips. 

“I’ll get Grant to deliver our notices.” She said. 

“We should get the others from the parlour out of there too.” Joshua sat up in bed. 

“I’ll get them when I head back,” Henry assured him. Everyone turned to look at Henry with barely disguised disbelief.

“Henry, you can’t go back.” Sammy tried to get up, but winced and settled back down. “Joey wanted you for a reason. You can't give him what he wants.”

“I caused a lot of this to happen.” Henry stood gravely in the doorway. “If anyone is going to finish this, it should be me.”

“Bullshit!” Cordelia stood up and stamped her foot. “You’re not playing hero, Henry! If you go,  you aren’t going alone!”

“I’d like to go with you,” Joshua said. He needed to know what that strange voice that had spoken to him when he’d been in Joey’s lab had been. 

“Then I’ll go too.” Cordelia nodded and sat down. 

“You are not going anywhere near that place ever again.” Cordelia winced slightly as Roy came storming into the room. He looked positively livid. 

“Roy.” She put on a nervous smile. “I thought you were in Chicago.”

“I leave for two days and I had to hear  _ secondhand _ that you almost got killed  **twice** !” He yelled, stalking over to her. 

“Please don’t yell.” She covered her face with her hands. “I meant to call you, I did. But things got complicated-”

“You could have died!” Roy grabbed her by her shoulders, dragging her to her feet. “I told you I didn’t want you working for him!”

“I know what you said.” Cordelia continued calmly. “And trust me, I’m not going to be working for him anymore.” For a few moments, Roy just stared at her, then he pulled her into a tight hug, starting to cry. 

“Should we give you some time or-?” Shawn started to ask.

“No,” Roy mumbled into his sister’s shoulder. 

“He’ll be fine, just give him a minute,” Cordelia assured them. “I really am sorry, Roy.” True to her words, after a few minutes Roy righted himself and looked at everyone in the room. 

“Thank you for taking care of my sister.” He said, straightening his bowtie, out of habit more than anything else. “I appreciate it.”

“I mean, we didn’t really take care of her,” Sammy said. “She took care of us.” Cordelia flushed, especially when Joshua took her hand and squeezed it. 

“I didn’t do all that much.” She shrugged her shoulders slightly. 

“You, Nancy, and Henry really saved our asses,” Wally said, giving her a big grin. 

“Is Nancy alright?” Roy asked, a slight expression of concern passing across his face. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Nancy strode in, holding an ice pack to her head. “They said I might have a slight concussion and I’ll have to rest and all that, but I’m fine.” 

“Your skull’s thick enough I’m surprised you got concussed at all,” Sammy said, just loud enough to be heard. Nancy’s eyebrow twitched. 

“I think I liked you better when you were Bendy.” She put her free hand on her hip. 

“Fuck you, Nancy.”

“Fuck you too.”

“I’m glad you’re alright.” Cordelia smiled at Nancy. “We were all a little worried.” 

“We’re gonna get a restraining order against Joey. You in?” Wally piped up. 

“Hell yeah.” Nancy settled herself down in one of the hospital chairs. “I don’t want that creep anywhere near me ever again!” 

“I know a good lawyer.” Henry pulled out a pad of paper and made a note to call Luke the next chance he got. 

“We’re gonna need to find new work.” Wally suddenly said. “Geez, I haven’t been job hunting in ages.”

“I could probably get a lot of you jobs at the animation studio I work at.” Henry offered. “We’re a little short-staffed right now.” 

“All of us?” Nancy asked. 

“I could probably swing it.” Henry nodded. 

“Father Lawrence offered me a job at his church, and I feel like I should take him up on his offer.” Cordelia looked over at the doorway. 

“Father, Mother, and Jacob went home,” Nancy said. “Jacob had a little too much excitement for the day.” 

“They’re good people, your family.” Cordelia smiled softly. “A little scary, but good people.” 

“They’re...well, they’re family.” Sammy shrugged slightly, turning his gaze towards the window.

“That’s about the nicest thing I think you’re going to get him to say.” Nancy laughed slightly. They all started to talk amongst one another, moving on to more comforting topics. Henry smiled before slipping out of the room. He needed some coffee. 


	2. Chapter 2

....

Joey paced as he tried to figure out what to do next. His Bendy and Boris options were no longer in his grasp and with Henry appearing and disappearing, he was running out of ideas. He ran an ink stained hand through his hair.

“Damnit…damnit...damnit...”

“It’s not nice to curse~” Joey glared at the ink dripping in his lab with an irritated look.

“You...you helped them escape. Didn’t you, Linda?” The ink shifted and a small framed figure rose from the ink, revealing a young girl, roughly 13 years old, crossing her arms.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” She smirked playfully. “After all, you yourself admitted that you had no idea what you were doing when you decided to _sacrifice_ me to the gods to grant you powers of a Creator instead of waiting for his powers to awaken.….” Joey narrowed his eyes.

“It was to bring our dreams to life…Henry would understand...he’d believe...Dreams come true...” Linda rolled her eyes.

“And trying to sacrifice the friend of Henry’s was going to help your case?” She placed her hands on her hips. “He will remember, he will awaken his power, he will find the truth, and he _will_ stop you.” Joey growled before he chucked an empty vial at the girl, who simply melted back into the ink, humming about Joey’s defeat.

“He will do no such thing!” Joey howled. “He will not betray me again! I will make sure of it...I will...” He started to laugh, before it became maniacal as Joey slipped down the rabbit hole of insanity. “I-I will have my perfect creations, my perfect family, they won’t abandon me!! I’ll make sure of it!”

.

* * *

 

.

“Look here, _Mister_ ,” Grant looked up from his report to see the mangled looking woman dressed as Alice Angel staring at him. He kept his reaction to himself as the woman placed her hands on the desk. “I’ve had it with this bullshit! This place is falling apart and frankly there isn’t enough of me in the park! I mean one stage show and some merchandise? Hmph!” Grant was speechless, unsure how to respond as the door opened, revealing the real Alice Angel.

“Mr. Grant, may I talk to….” The two angels locked eyes and Alice was terrified, expecting the worse from the much taller woman.

“Is the child ok?” Alice blinked and looked up at Susie. “The girl Nancy...is she better?” Alice quickly nodded.

“Y-Yes! She went home with her family!” Susie seemed to smile before turning back to Grant, a frown on her deformed face.

“And for another thing, there’s no consistency! I mean look! While I appreciate the attempt to imitate my perfection, she is far too short to be as perfect as me! My fans will notice the difference!” Susie sighed dramatically, earning the temptation of Grant’s signature eyeroll. “My poor adoring fans…betrayed by that demon, and left with a bite-size angel and mere plushes as compensation!”

“Well,” Grant started to say. “While I am in control of the finances, it is rather difficult to talk Joey into making changes…” He carefully thought about the right choice of words to use. “Perhaps if you were to write down a list of suggestions and recommendations I could show it to-” Susie nodded firmly and grabbed a notebook from Grant’s desk and a pen before grabbing Alice, surprising the toon, and dragged her to the small futon Grant had in his office, confusing the others.

“Alright, let’s show that moron what _true_ dream making is!” Grant watched in mild confusion as Susie handed the pen and paper to Alice and had her write down the many Alice-themed changes she wanted. Alice stole a few glances at Grant while scribing for the woman, who shrugged; he certainly had no idea what the woman was on or who she was, but if she wasn’t attacking anyone, they may as well take whatever little victories they got.


	3. Chapter 3

Murray was genuinely considering quitting. Joey was starting to lose it. With all his players gone, Joey was spiralling out of control. Murray was almost afraid Joey would sacrifice him next. Part of him took comfort in the fact that he was far more proficient in magic and thus was important to Joey. The other part knew Joey was becoming just crazy enough to sacrifice him without thinking through the consequences. So he headed over to Grant’s office to get the proper papers. He was rather surprised when he opened the door and found both Alice and Susie sitting in Grant’s office. Susie was scribbling on a pad of paper while Alice watched. 

“Ah, Mr Hill.” Grant looked up with a long-suffering expression on his face. “I think you might be able to take care of this better than I can.” Susie looked up from her papers and jumped to her feet. 

“You!” She said, pointing an accusing finger at him. 

“Me.” Murray hung his head. 

“Hello, Mr Hill.” Alice waved meekly.

“Hello.” He sighed heavily. “What can I do for you, Alice?”

“Fix me!” Susie demanded. “I need to be perfect! I have to please my fans!” Murray nodded, walking over to Grant’s desk. 

“I’m assuming you’re here because you want to give your two weeks notice?” Grant folded his hands on his desk. 

“I just need the forms.” Murray mumbled, glancing back at Susie. Once he had those forms, he took Susie back to his office and, true to his word, fixed the damage Joey had done. Susie Campbell left Joey Drew World that day, promising that she was going to sue Joey for what he’d done. Murray just ushered her out, nodding the whole way. That just left Alice. She was still in Grant’s office, kicking her chair and thinking. 

“Mr Cohen?” 

“Yes?”

“I’m not really Alice, am I?” She asked. Grant didn’t look up from his paperwork, but he shrugged slightly. 

“That’s not a question I know how to answer.” He admitted. “You’d have to ask Mr Hill about that.” Alice nodded and got up, leaving Grant’s office and heading to Murray’s. She found him face down on his desk, a large bottle of some bottom shelf liquor on his desk. 

“Mr Hill?”

“Mm?” He looked up blearily. “Oh, Alice. What can I do for you?” Alice stepped inside, closing the door behind her. 

“I’m not...really Alice, am I?” She asked. “I used to be human, right?” 

“Unfortunately.” Murray nodded, taking a swig from his bottle. 

“Who...Who was I?”

“Allison Pendle.” Murray answered, looking anywhere but at her. “You were the voice actress who replaced Susie when she flew off the Hollywood to pursue her dream.” Alice nodded, shifting uncomfortably. Unlike Boris or Bendy, she’d had no memories of her past life. She’d never had a problem with her past self getting in the way of her new self. 

“Do I have to go back to being Allison?” She whispered. 

“Not if you don’t want to.” Murray said. “I mean, there are people looking for you. If that changes anything.”

“I want to think about it.” She murmured before turning and leaving the room.

 

It took a few days before everyone was well enough to leave the hospital. They’d decided on who exactly was going back, which was Henry, Joshua, Cordelia, and Nancy. Sammy was too weak, Wally too shaken up, and Shawn far too angry to go back. Roy had argued against Cordelia going back, but she’d put her foot down. She wanted to be there for Joshua, especially after what had happened before. She made sure to put mace and a small knife in her purse when they headed over. 

“So we’re really doing this,” Joshua said as they approached the gates of the park. 

“We’re really doing this.” Cordelia nodded. 

“I’m going to fuck him up for this.” Nancy cracked his knuckles. Henry just nodded solemnly, his heart heavy in his chest. For the first time since what had happened to Linda, he was going to confront Joey about his actions. They all glanced at each other and headed inside. No one stopped them. They worked there, after all. A few of the security guards did ask if they were alright. 

“You looked pretty rough when you left.” The guard said. 

“Just some workplace accidents.” Cordelia assured them with a sunny smile. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone’s feeling a lot better, but we want to have a little talk with Joey about the safety of this place.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable.” The guard nodded. 

“Thank you for your concern, though.” Cordelia said. “We all really do appreciate that you worry about us. You’re a good man.”

“Well, I try.” The guard rubbed the back of his neck, smiling bashfully. As soon as they were away from the guard station, Cordelia smile dropped and she reached into her bag to get her switchblade. 

“Damn. I didn’t know you could manipulate people like that.” Nancy raised her eyebrows.

“I learned how to tell people what they wanted to hear very quickly.” Cordelia opened her switchblade. “Now let’s go fuck Joey up.” 

They went into Joey’s office and descended down to his lab. Nancy had her fists ready and Cordelia brandished her switchblade. They found Joey crouched over a table, muttering to himself like a madman, which he was. 

“Joey,” Henry said, stepping forward. “We need to have a talk.” Joey spun around, and the group saw just how far he’d fallen. His hair was wild and unkempt, his clothing ink-stained and rumpled, and his eyes wild and wide. 

“Henry!” He smiled in an unhinged manner. “I thought I’d have to go out and find you! How serendipitous for you to have come back! There’s so much we have to do!” He took a step towards Henry, but Joshua, Cordelia, and Nancy formed rank around Henry. 

“We’re shutting you down,” Joshua said. Joey blinked, his smile falling a bit. 

“No.” He said, grimacing. “Nononononononono! NO! I’m not going to lose this opportunity! I will bring them to life!”

“I think that’s enough, Joey.” A girl’s voice came from somewhere in the room. 

“Shut up!” Joey turned around and stamped his foot. Henry froze where he was, his breath catching in his throat. 

“Sweetie?” He whispered. “Is...Is that you?” Cordelia, Joshua, and Nancy glanced back at Henry in confusion. 

“Hello, Daddy.” A young girl rose out of the ink, smiling at Henry. Henry’s eyes widened. 

“Linda?”


	4. Chapter 4

….

_ “Mr. Henry?” Henry looked at the owner of the voice, smiling softly as he saw the 13 year old boy. “Can I sit with you?” Henry nodded and Joshua sat down in the pew next to him.  _

_ “Shouldn’t you go play with the others? I’m certain I heard that there was casseroles and other foods in the lobby.” Joshua shook his head. _

_ “Nah, I’m not hungry...and I don’t want to listen to all the grownups saying that they’re sorry.” Henry looked at Joshua. “You know, everytime someone dies, they say they’re sorry for your loss and give you a casserole and then go play bridge. Or whatever old people play.” Joshua sighed and looked at the adult. Henry smiled softly; Joshua knew all too well over what he was talking about. _

_ “Yeah...that’s a really old card game...I don’t have the patience for it…” Joshua nodded, looking at the ground before turning back to Henry. _

_ “It’s never going to be easy, is it Mr. Henry? Having to say goodbye too early?” Henry wiped his eyes, nodding slowly, and held Joshua close, hugging the boy tightly, the boy returning the hug as they dealt with the emotions dealing with the death of Joshua’s close friend and Henry’s wife and child. _

.

* * *

 

.

“L-Linda?” Henry managed out, falling to his knees. “O-O-My…B-Baby…”

“Linda?” Nancy echoed, looking at Joshua. “Wasn’t she…” Joshua nodded slowly.

“She was what?” Cordelia asked, understandably confused.

“Henry’s daughter…” Joshua said quietly. “S-She was about my age….but...didn’t she die in a wreck?” Linda smiled softly as Joey growled, as if ready to pounce. 

“That’s what Joey said happened to me…” She said. “That’s what he made Henry think.” She looked at Joey, frowning. “Made him think that it was a car wreck that took me and Mama from him, when in reality it was-”

“ENOUGH!” Joey snapped, throwing a vial at her. Linda easily caught it in her hand and glared at Joey.

“It’s really rude to interrupt people Mr. Drew.” She said. “Besides, it didn’t matter what you said; Henry still left you all alone.” She crossed her arms before looking at her father. “Daddy...please, I know how hard it is…” She warily walked to her father, taking his hands. “But please think about what happened that day….think really hard about it.”

“NO!” Joey lunged for the girl, but Nancy tackled Joey, knocking the older man to the ground managing to pin the man down with much difficulty. Henry was quiet as he looked at his daughter, who was smiling hopefully, thinking about that difficult day, even as his head hurt. He and his wife were heading to the studio….Joey said he wanted to show something to Henry...there was then screaming, someone crying out, and then blackness….

“Linda…” Henry said softly.

“Daddy...Mr. Drew wanted to bring his creations to life….” Linda said softly. “He wanted your powers as a Creator to awaken and when you told him that he was being silly…” She trailed off.

“You and Maria…” Henry started to say softly. “You weren’t with me in the car...J-Joey had taken the both of you...He…” Henry turned to Joey, tears forming in his eyes. “Joey….no...you didn’t…you’re my best friend…”

“They were in the way.” Joey managed out before shoving Nancy up and standing up, creeping towards his ‘friend’. “You were wasting your potential being distracted by that harlet! You’d never awaken your power, but now, oh now, now we can bring our creations to live properly! We just need to take care of these new distractions!!” Henry was shocked, his heart shattered into pieces; for years he ached and hurt for his loss but took comfort in his best friend’s jovial optimism, only to realize it was merely an act, a ruse to use him like a prop, to toss away whenever he didn’t act according to Joey’s wants. As Henry stood, there was a tense arua in the air, similar to the feeling of a thunderstorm being to start. 

“Joey….” He said darkly. “You’ve gone too far this time….” Joey's smile was faltering.

"H-Henry?" 

"I  _will_ stop you."


	5. Chapter 5

One way or another, there would be an ending to things now. Henry faced Joey, his whole body shaking in barely contained anger. He had trusted Joey. He had trusted him and it had all been a lie. 

“Henry?” Joey’s voice was small as the ink began to bubble and roil behind Henry. Out of the ink rose shapes. The shapes of Bendy, Alice, and Boris. Joey’s eyes widened. 

“You...You’ve done it!” He laughed, gesturing to the toons behind Henry. “Your powers have been activated!” But Henry said nothing, instead just advancing on Joey with the toons. Nancy, Joshua, and Cordelia stood back. They knew better than to get in the middle of this.

“You took everything from me,” Henry said as the toons pinned Joey to the wall. “You destroyed my life for your own selfish desires. You want the toons to live? Fine. They’ll live. But you’ll be one of them.” Bendy had previously been standing beside Henry, but now he strode forward. His body turned to ink and he wrapped around Joey. Joey tried to scream, but the ink covered his mouth. 

“Dear God,” Cordelia whispered. Henry just stood there, watching as Joey’s body was compressed and changed. 

“Congratulations, Joey.” Henry’s voice was hollow. “All your dreams are coming true.” Linda moved closer to Henry, holding his hand and resting her head on his arm. 

“I’m sorry, Daddy.” She said. 

“It’s not your fault, baby.” He kissed her head. It wasn’t the same, though. She smiled like ink, her body cold and clammy. He just wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her it would be okay. He wanted to go back to the way things had been before. The other two toons melted back into the ink, leaving Bendy/Joey alone. 

“So...What do we do now?” Joshua asked. 

“We take him upstairs,” Henry said. “The park belongs to me now.” Linda melted into his body, faint sigils appearing on Henry’s hands. Henry let out a sigh he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding in. Joey shook his head and looked around. 

“What the-” He looked down at his body and screamed. “Why would you do this to me?!” 

“If you ask me, you’re getting off easy.” Nancy folded her arms. “I would’ve pummeled your face in.”

“This way, we can still keep the park running.” Henry pulled Joey to his feet. “It belongs to me now. Are we clear?”

“You can’t do this!” Joey sputtered, stumbling back. 

“I can,” Henry said firmly. “I’m running the park now and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” He’d create a Boris later, once he’d set up Joey in his role as Bendy. 

“Well, we should probably get to work,” Cordelia said. 

“You mean  _ they _ should get to work.” Joshua corrected her. “We’re outta here.”

“Oh, right.” Cordelia laughed tiredly. “I’d almost forgotten about that.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” Henry turned back to the other three. “I appreciate your assistance and I hope to never need it again.”

“You’re family.” Joshua smiled gently. “I’ll always be here to help you.”

“It was no problem.” Nancy shrugged. “I never trusted that bastard in the first place.” 

“But...people will miss me,” Joey said weakly. “You can’t run this park without me. People want to meet me.”

“If you’re good, I’ll give you your human form back.” Henry didn’t turn back to look at Joey. “But until then, you’ll make people happy as Bendy the Dancing Demon. You’ll suffer with the consequences of your actions.” Joey lowered his head. He was powerless now and he knew it. He had what he wanted, but not in the way he’d expected. 

“Alright.” He whispered, his shoulders slumping. “I’ll do what you say.” 

“Good.” Henry nodded definitively. 

They all left Joey’s underground lab together, Joey trailing behind them. 


	6. Chapter 6

...

“Hey, Henry.” Henry looked up from the random papers Joey had on his desk to keep appearances up, seeing Joshua standing at the door frame.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home with Nancy and Cordelia?” Joshua shook his head.

“I told them I’d catch up with them later; I wanted to check up on you.” Henry smiled softly as his ‘son’ came over to sit next to him. “I wanted to make sure you’re ok...I mean granted it’s one of those kinda can’t really be ok but I mean….” He trailed off chuckling nervously. Henry smiled softly.

“It’s going to be a long process…” Henry said after a few minutes. “Joey was my best friend...and what he’s done was inexcusable...but, but I feel a bit more at peace...I guess part of me never believed Joey’s story about the wreck and wanted to find closure about Maria and Linda…and now I know the truth...” Joshua held Henry close, the other man returning the hug. 

“DREW!” The door slammed opened as a very drunken Murray stumbled through the door, trailed behind by Alice and Grant. “I’ve gots some words for you, you mudder fudder jerkwad piece of…”

“Mr. Hill, this isn’t a good idea…” Alice said before seeing Henry and Joshua. “Oh! Joshua! M-Mr. Henry!” Murray stumbled and leaned against the desk.

“Where’s that bathster Drew? I got a few choice...words for him…ngh my head hurts…” Murray face planted into the desk and groaned. 

“He’s a lightweight.” Grant mumbled. “And I can only assume that things went down…” Henry nodded before explaining what happened. Once he had finished, Grant let out a deep sigh as Alice played with the hem of her dress.

“Dat’s…Dat’s” Murray started to say before he started drunkenly sobbing. “Dat’s very sad!!! Henbrie, I’m so sorry!! You’re the best dad!! And Joey’s an ass!!!” Murray tumbled back and landed on his back, whining and drunkenly mumbling. 

“S-So Joey is Bendy now?” Alice asked softly and Henry nodded.

“Yes, he has to pay for what he has done…but I think it may be for the best…”

“He is a drama queen.” Grant stated louder than he intended as there was a loud ‘HEY’ from one drawers and Bendy poked his head from the drawer.

“I am not Cohen!” Bendy growled before peering over the drawer, mumbling out a hello to Alice and Murray, who had succeeded in getting up to a sitting position.

“You!” Murray drunkenly yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the toon. “You! You….you tell Joey, you tell ‘em he’s an ass!!” Murray let out a drunken giggle before falling over, blacking out. Alice warily poked his cheek, getting groans from the sleeping drunk man. Joshua rubbed the back of his head.

“I’ll take him back to my place...I have some ibuprofen for when he wakes up.” Joshua offered, heading over to Murray.

“May I go with you?” Alice said before quickly turning to Henry. “I-If it’s alright with you, Mr. Henry of course!” Henry chuckled softly.

“Of course, it’s fine with me Alice…” He said. “Just be careful...all of you guys...Me and Grant will figure out what changes are going to be made to the park…” Joshua nodded.

“Don’t overwork yourself, Henry…”

.

* * *

 

.

“And here’s the house.” Joshua said as he opened the door, allowing Alice in as he got Murray into the small home and got him on the couch. Alice roamed curiously, taking in all the exciting different things, especially the pictures and posters on the wall.

“Wow, these are so cool!!” She exclaimed before pausing. “Oh, Joshua...who are these ladies?” She pointed to a framed picture and Joshua looked.

“Oh, this was from the Easter brunch last year...let’s see…” Joshua began pointing to each woman. “This is my mother, Mrs. Lawrence, Dee obviously, and this is Susie and that’s Allison Pendle.” Alice froze as she looked at the woman Joey was pointing to; that was her former self! She took a moment before nodding firmly.

“How much do you know about Ms. Pendle?” Joshua blinked slowly, albeit confused. He made his way to a chair and slumped into the chair.

“Um...well, I know that she worked with at the studio before the park opened…” He said slowly. “And I know that she and Dave were pretty close…”

“Dave?” Alice repeated and Joshua shrugged.

“Ah well, he’s a friend of mine, works at the parlour too, and it’s a rather touchy subject to ask him about, regarding Allison...Let’s just say nobody’s talking politely regarding Mr. Pendle and his opinions...…” Joshua chuckled nervously. “Sorry I can’t help you much with that Alice...Dave’s a bit quiet about it…” Alice nodded slowly, deciding that she would need to have a chat with this Dave fellow. As if he could read her mind he sighed. “I’ll ask him after I call Dee and Nancy…” He pushed himself off the chair and headed to the phone. “And then we’ll get pizza or something for dinner...that sound alright?” Alice beamed with excitement about the idea of uncovering her past and tasting this “pizza”.

“That sounds wonderful Joshua!!”


	7. Chapter 7

Nancy and Cordelia arrived at the house not too long after Joshua made his call, with Roy in tow. Roy was less than pleased with the fact that his sister had gone back to the park despite his worries. But his fears had been assuaged due to the fact that Joey was no longer a threat. Still, he refused to let Cordelia out of his sight now.

“You’re being way too protective,” Nancy said as they entered. “She carries around a switchblade for Christ’s sake!”

“I know. I gave it to her.” Roy muttered. Times like these, he found himself itching for a cigarette. But no, he’d promised to quit and he was going to keep that promise. Cordelia would never let him hear the end of it if he gave up.

“I’m all he has left, he’s allowed to be a little protective.” Cordelia patted her brother’s back gently. Alice was there waiting for them when they entered, smiling.

“Hello, Alice.” Cordelia smiled warmly. 

“How’s Murray?” Nancy asked with a big grin. “I heard he got pretty smashed. That must’ve been fun to see.” 

“It was....something.” Alice laughed nervously. Murray groaned from the couch, rolling over and vomiting onto the carpet. Joshua came out of the kitchen and groaned. 

“Oh come on.” He sighed. “Really? On the carpet?” 

“I’ll clean it up.” Cordelia offered. “You still keep the cleaning supplies in the same place, right?” 

“Yeah, but you really don’t have to-”

“Sssh.” She put a finger to his lips. “You have dinner to make. I’ll take care of this.”

“Okay.” He smiled slightly and retreated into the kitchen. 

Roy and Nancy were left with Alice while Cordelia cleaned up the vomit and Joshua prepared the pizza. This was it. This was Alice’s chance to ask about Allison.

“I, um, I have a few questions if you wouldn’t mind.” Alice sidled up to them, hands folded in front of her. Her whole body was shaking. She didn’t know how anyone else felt about Allison or even if they’d answer her questions. Part of her was afraid of the answers she might receive. What if Allison wasn’t a good person? What if she was better off as Alice? What if no one missed her?

“Shoot,” Roy said, making little finger gun symbols. One disparaging look from Nancy was enough to make him stop, though.

“What do you know about Miss Allison Pendle?” 

“Oh, her.” Nancy’s response was thankfully rather mild. “She replaced Susie as the voice actress for Alice. I didn’t know her all that well, but she seemed nice. Dave’s got a history with her, but he doesn’t like talking about it.”

“I met her once.” Roy shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. “She reminded me a lot of Dee.”

“That’s...good, right?” Alice asked slowly. 

“It’s a pretty high compliment coming from him.” Nancy snickered. Roy rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were tinged pink. Alice laughed softly. Still, that was good. She was glad both Roy and Nancy had good things to say about Allison. Especially since everyone’s feelings towards Susie were...less than pleasant. 

“What are we talking about?” Cordelia returned to the room, having cleaned up the vomit. 

“Alice was asking about Allison.” Nancy explained. 

“Oh, I liked her,” Cordelia said brightly. “I mean, not at first, but in the end, we got along pretty well.”

“Why didn’t you like her at first?” Alice felt her heart begin to sink. 

“I didn’t like that she’d replaced Susie.” Cordelia admitted. “I was being petty and I felt really bad about it. She really was a lovely person.” She paused for a moment. “I always wondered what happened to her. She just disappeared one day.”

“Joey probably did something to her.” Nancy leaned against the wall. “Sick fucker.” Roy made a very nasty face and grunted in agreement. Cordelia just sighed, shaking her head. 

“I will never understand what went through that man’s head.” She said. 

“Don’t even try.” Nancy’s lips curled in disgust. “It’s not worth it.” Alice went quiet, looking down at her hands. She remembered when she thought Joey could do no wrong. She felt so foolish now. She’d trusted Joey and he’d betrayed her. He’d betrayed everyone. 

“Let’s not talk about that,” Cordelia said quickly, noticing Alice’s expression. 

“Pizza’s ready!” Joshua yelled from the kitchen. “Come and get it!” They all filed to the kitchen, glad for the distraction.

 .

.

Back at the park, Bendy had fallen asleep in Henry’s desk drawer. Henry didn’t immediately notice this, due to all the paperwork he and Grant were filling out. He was halfway through filling out a form when he noticed little cartoon z’s coming from the drawer Bendy was sleeping in. When he opened the drawer, he found Bendy curled up in a little ball, fast asleep. The little demon looked so innocent. If Henry didn’t know any better, he’d assume Bendy was exactly as innocent as he looked.

“Did he fall asleep?” Grant asked, not looking up from his papers.

“Yeah.” Henry sighed heavily, closing the drawer. “Linda used to fall asleep like this sometimes. She’d stay up watching me draw, even though Maria had told us both to go to bed.” He couldn’t help but smile slightly at the memory. He still couldn’t believe he’d done what he had. Grant pursed his lips, then looked up, taking off his glasses. 

“I would understand if you wanted to close the park and never think about this again.” He said. “You don’t have to keep this running.”

“This place makes people happy.” Henry kept his gaze on the papers. “Joey may have done terrible things here, but that doesn’t erase the fact that this brings people’s dreams to life.” He knew Bendy and friends made people smile. Far be it from him to destroy the dreams of so many children. Not to mention, the cartoons had been Linda’s favorite back when she’d been alive. If he could make someone else’s baby happy, then he would be satisfied. 

“You’re too kind for your own good.” Grant smiled just a bit. 

“Will you leave?” Henry asked. “I’d understand if you want to.”

“Someone needs to keep this place afloat.” Grant shrugged, putting his glasses back on and returning to the paperwork. “If Joey ever gets his form back, it would be better if I were here to make sure he doesn’t run the park into the ground.” Henry laughed and shook his head. The two of them continued on in a comfortable silence, satisfied with their conversation. 


	8. Chapter 8

...

Joey was pissed and frustrated, to say the least. Henry had his awaken his power as a Creator, and instead of realizing their dream, he instead turned him into Bendy. Not that he particularly minded, he was more attached to the demon than say, Boris or the angel, but still it was embarrassing. And now he was stuck following Henry’s orders and having to entertain children. 

“Typical Henry.” He muttered as he shuffled through his office, trying to find his old notes and such. “Always wanting to keep people happy...He too much of a people pleaser…” He huffed and sighed before spotting a record player on the floor. “Hmm? What’s that doing here?” He frowned; perhaps some music would help him focus? After all, he used the radio to drown out his experiments so it would make sense. He walked over and after several minutes he got the thing to work, the swing music playing a lighthearted tune. Joey stepped back, proud of his work, his foot tapping in time with the beat. “Perfect...now..” Joey blinked, drawing a blank. “Crap...What was I doing again?” Joey shook his head and sighed. “It probably wasn’t that important...maybe if I get a new routine done, Henry might be impressed enough to let me play a little prank on Grant…” Joey chuckled to himself before dancing to the music, ‘creating’ the routine, completely forgetting about what he was doing earlier and unaware that Henry entered the office, smiling as he saw Joey dancing and looking like he was enjoying himself. He chuckled softly, remembering the first time he showed one of the completed short to Linda. 

.

* * *

 

.

“Nugh...Everything hurts….” Murray whined as he held an ice pack to his head. Joshua sighed as Cordelia smiled softly.

“You did drink half a bottle…” Alice noted and Murray groaned.

“Why….” Roy rolled his eyes as Nancy snickered.

“Hey man, not everyone can handled the ‘devil’s drink’,” She joked before sighing. “Ah man...the parlour’s not going to be fixed till the end of the year…” 

“Well, Henry offered us jobs at an animation studio.” Nancy looked at Cordelia.

“I’m a tattoo artist, not an animator.”

“Well, there’s still the park.” Joshua said as he ate his slice. “I’m going back….’sides, Henry is going to need help running the place.”

“And you’re trusting that Joey isn’t going to go batshit insane?” 

“He’s less than 4 feet tall. The worst he can do now is bite my ankles, and I’ve already gotten that experience.” Roy and Cordelia, and even Murray looked at him. “A very drunk customer was chewing on everything. People get weird to psych themselves up for tattoos or piercings.” 

“Really?” Alice asked. “What else do they do?” Joshua looked at the others before he started to tell some of the tales of the parlour, with Nancy putting her own two cents in. By the end of it, Alice was rolling on the floor laughing, Murray looked like he was debating on finding more alcohol and even Roy had a smile on his face. Joshua looked at Cordelia, who was trying to hide her smile with her hand. Joshua chuckled before sighing.

“Hey, Al,” Alice looked at him.

“Yes?”

“I’m thinking that I can maybe invite Dan over and you can talk with him...if you’re really that interested in knowing about Allison Pendle…” Alice’s eyes lit up.

“Oh yes! Yes! Yes please!” Joshua nodded and stood up and headed to the phone. Nancy let out a sigh.

“Well, _this_ is certainly going to be interesting.”

“Oh can it Nancy, he’s been holding it in for few years nows. And we both know that Mr. Pendle won’t even look at us without blowing us off, you know, cause we sided with Dave and Allison, and we don’t kiss his monkey-suited ass.” Alice gulped, wondering about what that meant, but she knew she needed these answers before she made her choice on what she was going to do with herself.


	9. Chapter 9

Alice waited with baited breath for Dave to arrive. She ate some pizza while she waited, and found it was better than she’d expected. She’d devoured half a pizza before she knew what she was doing. 

“You’re gonna give yourself a stomach ache eating that fast,” Murray said. 

“Oh hush, it’s her first time trying pizza.” Cordelia gently swatted at his shoulder. Roy just stared at the pizza with a contempt that was frankly rather hilarious. 

“It’s just pizza, Roy. It’s not going to hurt you.” Cordelia said. 

“It’s disgusting and I am not putting it in my mouth.”

Cordelia sighed. “No one is making you eat it.”

“Why does he not like pizza?” Alice whispered to Joshua. Pizza was so good! She couldn’t imagine why anyone would dislike it. 

“Dee says he’s a fussy eater when it comes to junk food.” He explained with a shrug.

“I am not a fussy eater!” Roy insisted, his face going red. 

“I’ve seen you give the finger to a bucket of fried chicken.” Nancy said. “It goes waaaay beyond being fussy.” Joshua lifted an eyebrow, giving Roy a look that said, ‘really’? 

“I was sleep deprived and in a bad mood. Are you never going to let me live that down?”

“You’re part of the family now.” Nancy grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “So now.”

“You’re as bad as Dee.” Roy muttered. Murray couldn’t help but smile as he ate his pizza. These people really were a lively bunch, weren’t they? He was almost glad he’d gotten involved in all of this. Just then the doorbell rang. 

“That’s probably Dave.” Joshua disentangled himself from Cordelia and went to go answer the door. Alice started to wring her hands. Dave was obviously someone who’d been very close to her former self. But did he miss Allison? Did he even want her back?

“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, putting a hand on Alice’s shoulder. 

“I’m just...a little nervous.” She admitted. 

“Well, meeting new people can be pretty scary.”

“Yeah, meeting new people.” Alice laughed nervously.

“Wait...do you know him?” Nancy’s eyes widened. 

“W-What?” Alice laughed even more nervously, hoping she wasn’t starting to sweat. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

“You just repeated what I said and laughed nervously! You totally know him!”

“It’s toon rules 101,” Cordelia said. “So what are you hiding from us, Alice?”

“N-Nothing!” Alice insisted. 

“Come on, leave her alone.” Murray said, trying to distract them. He knew exactly why Alie was acting strange, after all. Nancy and Cordelia exchanged a glance, both smiling mischievously. 

“Thanks for coming, Dave.” Joshua led Dave into the living room. Both men paused at the scene before them. Roy and Murray sat on the couch, watching the women wrestle on the floor below. Nancy and Cordelia were trying to tickle their answers out of Alice.

“Should I come back later?” Dave asked. 

“No, uh, sorry.” Cordelia scrambled off of Alice and Nancy, smiling sheepishly. 

“I regret nothing.” Nancy put her hands up and got off Alice. 

“What were you two even doing?” Joshua asked, helping Cordelia up. 

“Alice was acting weird so we decided we’d tickle the answer out of her.” Nancy flopped on the couch next to Roy, who fist-bumped her. Murray just shook his head, sighing loudly. 

“I was not acting weird.” Alice protested. 

“You kind of were.” Cordelia said. 

“That aside, Dave’s here.” Joshua gestured to the other tattoo artist. 

“You said you had some questions about Allison?” Dave looked to Alice, who nodded. She had begun to fidget again. This was it. This was the moment of truth.

“I...I was wondering what your thoughts on Allison were.” She said. “Just out of curiosity. Were you two...close?”

“We were.” Dave nodded, a look of both pain and tenderness crossing his face. “I haven’t seen her in years though.”

“Which is probably Joey’s fault.” Nancy added with an eye roll. 

“Why are you asking?” Dave asked. Alice looked to Murray, who gave her a nod. She didn’t have to worry about Joey’s wrath anymore. If she wanted to tell the truth, she could. Alice pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

“I’m...I’m asking because...Because I used to be Allison Pendle.”


	10. Chapter 10

….

_ “I’m sorry, Alli…” Dave winced as Allison gently touched his swollen cheek, given to him by the girl’s father. _

_ “Dave...David, there’s no need to apologize, I-I’m going to show him...I’m going to show the both of them I’m not some doll for them to just show off…and tell me what to do.” _

_ “Please don’t get hurt…” Dave whispered but he was cut off as Allison kissed him on the lips. After a few moments she pulled back with a smile. _

_ “You’ll hear from me again soon, Dave….” She said before checking the time quickly. The young teen stood up. “I promise….” The 19 year old tattoo artist nodded, still shocked from the kiss as he watched his sweetheart leave for the last time. _

.

* * *

 

.

To Dave’s credit, he didn’t immediately give a freak out as Alice looked nervously at him, studying his reaction; he was looking her over, his breathing steady as he nodded.

“I see…” Nancy’s reaction was a bit more ‘on the nose’.

“I fucking called it; Joey’s fault.” Cordelia gulped softly as Murray sighed and shook his head. 

“Not...exactly...he gave her a way out…” He mumbled quietly and Alice turned from Dave to Murray. “I don’t really know the details but-”

“Her father found where she was and wanted her back home.” Dave stated, Alice noticing that he was clenching his fist. “Damn bastard apparently wanted her to marry some son of a banker…convinced I was hiding her….” Dave looked at Joshua and Nancy. “The ass in the monkey suit from a few months ago.”

“The one who I almost called the cops on for what he called me and you in particular?” Dave nodded and Nancy let out a sigh. “Ok, I can see why one would go the route of cartoon angel.” Alice was quiet as she nervously tugged on her dress; she definitely wasn’t expecting  _ that _ as to be the reason for Allison becoming her, but in a way it made sense; if Allison’s father was as bad as the others made it, it would’ve been easy for Joey to convince Allison that he had a way to help her. She sighed softly and Murray took her shoulder.

“It’s alright…” Murray said before sighing softly. “Joey thought it would be an easy thing for when the man showed up; have Allison be the toon while he interrogated the place and then turn her back when he left and kinda have it be a ‘thing’, employees being able to turn into the characters if they needed to hide...but…”

“Joey stuck his foot in his mouth, didn’t he?” Joshua asked. “He was playing with power he didn’t comprehend…” Murray chuckled.

“That’s one way of putting it...that’s how I got involved...he found out about my...set of skills and hired me to help, forgetting the little detail-”

“That I didn’t know who I was…” Alice said softly, rubbing her eyes. 

“Joey does tend to not think ahead…” Cordelia noted, chuckling. “I mean, he not only got the park open when Grant was out sick, but he ended up buying several pounds of candy last Halloween and trying to convince Sammy that he could use the Music Department as a place for kids to play for Halloween.” Nancy snorted, leaning over.

“That’s why he was so mad?! Oh that’s great!” Nancy managed out in between her laughing. “He stormed into the house and growled at every Halloween related decoration!” Alice started giggling, the image of the Music Director growling at a pumpkin too much for the angel. She fell over laughing and Joshua stole a look at Dan, who was smiling sadly. Dan looked at him and whispered.

“I haven’t heard her laughter in so long…and it’s still as wonderful as it was when I first met her…”

.

* * *

 

.

“Oh for #$@& sake Henry…” Joey grumbled as he saw the man, leaned over on the desk, past out as Grant was following suit pretty quickly. “You two are such overachievers.” Joey shook his head, though a part of him nagged that he should at least get them something to cover up. He stood there debating before speaking aloud. “Maybe this will help me get my normal self back.” He said, almost in a way to convince himself that was the reason he was going to find the Bendy-themed blankets for the two men, placing the blankets carefully on the two to make sure they stayed asleep; last thing he needed was for them to run the coffee shop out of coffee shop.


	11. Chapter 11

As Alice sat in the living room, listening to everyone and catching Dave’s eye every so often, she found herself in turmoil. She could understand why Allison would want to escape, but she saw how sad Dave was to not have Allison around. When she spoke, she could see the longing in his eyes. She knew now that there were people who missed Allison and wanted her back. She decided she needed to talk this out with someone, to weigh the positives and negatives against one another. So once the little meetup was over, she went up to Murray and sat down. 

“What’s up?” He asked. Cordelia had provided an ice pack to help with his pounding headache before heading out with Joshua and Roy to pick up Henry and Grant from the park. Nancy had left as well to take Dave home. 

“Do you think I should go back to being Allison?” She asked outright. No use beating around the bush.

“That’s really up to you, kiddo,” Murray said. “I can turn you back if that’s what you want, but you need to be sure. This is a big process.”

“Maybe I should talk to Joey.” Alice murmured. 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Murray laughed nervously. “Joey’s making amends for his actions, but he still wants to keep his little world unchanging.” 

“I still want to talk to him.” Alice pursed her lips. She wanted to understand Joey Drew a little bit better. She had faith that Joey, deep down, wasn’t a bad man. He could be saved. She was sure of it. 

“Well, he should be here soon.” Murray laid back down on the couch. 

“He _ can _ be saved.” Alice sat down on the floor. 

“He’s gonna be a tough nut to crack.” Murray glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Joey didn’t start out as a bad person, but he’s gotten pretty messed up now.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t get better.” Alice nodded definitively. Murray couldn’t help but smile. Allison had been a wide-eyed idealist even before she’d become Alice. Murray had felt rather guilty taking away her humanity. But she had been willing. 

“Why did you start working for Joey, anyway?” Alice asked, looking over at him. 

“Well, since he lacked powers of his own he put out some feelers in the magical community to find someone who did.” He shrugged slightly. 

“Wait...Are you...Are you a wizard?” Alice’s eyes lit up as if she was just now realizing the extent of his powers.

“No use in denying it.” Murray held up his hands, displaying the sigils carved into the flesh.

“Did you go to a magic school?” Alice started bouncing up and down. 

“No. Sorry.” Murray smiled apologetically. “I was pretty much homeschooled on that subject.”

“Is everyone in your family magic?”

“The gene skips a few people, like my sister, but for the most part yes.”

“Wait,” Alice frowned. “You never told me  _ why _ you started working for Joey in the first place.” Murray cringed a little at that. He’d been hoping the fact that he was magic would make her forget about the fact that he was working for a madman.

“It’s...a long story.” He sighed. Just then everyone returned, thankfully saving him from having to explain himself to Alice. 

“Here’s the little bastard.” Roy picked up Joey by the scruff of his neck and placed him on the coffee table. 

“Don’t call me that.” Joey glowered up at Roy, cursing his new short stature. 

“Joey, I’d like to talk to you.” Alice got up, grabbing Joey’s hand. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Joshua asked. 

“He’s harmless now,” Henry assured him. Joey folded his arms and pouted rather adorably. Alice tugged on his hand until he got up and followed her upstairs. They went into one of the bedrooms and Alice closed the door behind them before turning to Joey. 

“I’m trying to figure out whether I should go back to being Allison.” She said. 

“There’s nothing I can do to stop you.” Joey laughed ruefully. “So you might as well.”

“Thank you. That was very helpful.” Alice deadpanned, folding her arms. “Look, I get that you’re bitter about all this, but genuinely want to talk this through with someone.”

“You could have done this with Murray.” Joey sat down and pouted more. 

“Yes, but I wanted to do it with you.” Alice sat down as well. “Allison came to you in the first place.”

“And I took advantage of her naivete.” He said, looking at least a little bit remorseful. “Is that what you were going to say?”

“No, that was not what I was going to say.” Alice raised an eyebrow. “Experiencing some self-loathing?” Joey hunched his shoulders, sinking down a bit. 

“....Maybe a little.” He muttered. “I don’t get what happened. I didn’t feel bad about it before, but now...” He shrugged uncomfortably. “The guilt is killing me and I hate it. It was so much easier when I didn’t care!” Alice patted his back. 

“Sounds rough.” She said. “But at least you do feel bad about it. That’s the first step towards making amends.”

“No one’s going to believe I actually want to make things right.” He shook his head. 

“Henry did this to you so you’d learn from your mistakes. I’m sure he’ll be happy you have.” Alice gave him a big grin and slapped his back again. 

“But I’d still do it all again in a heartbeat,” Joey admitted. 

“So we’re not there yet.” Alice’s smile faded. “We’ll get there eventually.” 

“We’ll see.” Joey straightened up and fixed his bowtie. “But anyway, you wanted to talk about going back to being human.”

“I do.” Alice nodded, quickly returning to business mode. “She wanted to become me so she could get away from her father, right?”

“That was the whole plan.” Joey nodded. “Probably the one good thing I ever did, protecting her like that.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s the only good thing you ever did,” Alice said. “You created Drew World. You produced all the cartoons. You made people happy, one way or another. You can be the man that people think you are, Joey. You can be a good man.” Joey stared down at his hands. 

“Anyway, I should probably head back downstairs.” Alice kissed his head and left the room. Joey stayed sitting there for a long time before heading downstairs as well. 


	12. Chapter 12

...

Alice skipped down the stairs and saw that Murray had gotten to an upright position, though his head was between his legs and Henry was rubbing the man’s back.

“Don’t you fucking puke on my carpet again.” Joshua grumbled as he finished clearing up the pizza before sitting next to his girlfriend, who smiled softly and gently pecked his cheek. “I don’t want to have to pay for professional cleaners.” Murray grumbled a retort and Cordelia sighed.

“Joshy, it’s fine.” Alice couldn’t help but giggle at the two’s blushing faces as Joshua’s hair covered his eyes as he curled into himself, blushing a bright red. She wondered if she and Dave were like that, curled up in each other’s laps, cuddling before they had to leave each other. “Oh Alice, you’re back…”

“Joey didn’t bother you, did he?” Alice shook her head.

“No, he was good.” She smiled before looking at Murray. “Murray?” Murray made a soft groan, indicating that he was listening. “I do want to become Allison again, but is there a way I become Alice again, in case the need arises?” Murray lifted his head and looked at her, everyone else looking at him.

“Honestly, I’m not sure...but I can definitely see what I can do.” Murray said, smiling softly as Alice beamed brightly.

.

* * *

 

.

The following day, the park reopened and Joey was nearly ran over with all the excited children who were so excited to see him. Luckily Joshua helped him by lifting him up out of the crowd and put him to an empty spot and help keep the kids from overcrowding him, though Joey resorted to climbing on top of Joshua, sitting on top of the man’s shoulders, much to the enjoyment of the kids as they followed Joshua and Bendy around the park.

“Well, that’s certainly something…” Henry said when he saw the group.

“I’m showcasing my park!” Joey called back as he waved Joshua’s hat, turning to the kids. “That’s Henry! He’s a Creator! And if he sees ya misbehavin’ you’re going to be outta here! Just like Wally says!” Henry couldn’t help but laugh as Joey ordered Joshua to head to the candy shop, much to the excitement of the kids. Everyone seemed so happy and enjoying themselves, and it made him happy.

“Henry!” Henry turned to see Murray coming over to him, holding several files. 

“Mr. Hill,” Henry said. “Did you find anything?” Murray beamed.

“I have found a few ideas, Alice is waiting for me at the break room,” Henry nodded.

“Fill me in, while we walk there.” Murray nodded, shuffling papers.

“One option is  altering the enchantment so that Alice is only Alice in the park, like as soon as she passes the property line, she returns to Allison. Granted that is a bit of a black and white option…” Henry nodded. “I did find an enchantment that focuses on an item, but the notes on that is vague at best; so that means the end result might not work right…” Henry nodded, thinking about that as they got to the break room, where Alice was chatting with Cordelia, who wanted to keep an eye on Joshua and make sure Alice was alright.

“Oh! Mr. Henry! Mr. Murray!” Alice exclaimed brightly. “Cordelia has been telling me about this lovely flower shop down near her home, and it sounds wonderful!”

“That’s good to hear.” Henry said with a smile as Murray got into business mode.

“Alright, Alice,” Murray said, beginning to explain what he had found. Alice nodded along as she weighed the options. 

“I think I like the item enchantment the best.” She said after a few moments after Murray had finished explaining. “E-Even with the risks, it seems like the best option for…” She placed a hand on her chest. “Me.” Everyone smiled at the the angel’s confidence. She turned to Cordelia. “C-Can you invite Dave to the park, once Murray’s finishes it?” Cordelia beamed and nodded.

“Certainly.”

.

* * *

 

.

“Welcome to the park, Dave,” Joshua said before being whapped by Joey with his hat.

“Onward! We’re going to the bumper cars!” Joshua gave Dave a sheepish grin before he led the group of children towards the bumper cars area, singing along with Joey. Dave chuckled, shaking his head before walking towards where Cordelia had asked to meet him. He walked towards the place, realizing it was a garden-like place from the Bendy short, “Dolly Daisies”. He chuckled softly, taking in the flowers and the melody of the song from the short playing over the speakers.

“Heh, pretty cute place…” Dave mused aloud.

“It is, isn’t it?” Dave froze as he heard a familiar voice. He slowly turned and saw his former love, Allison, standing in front of him. She smiled, trying to hold back tears as he slowly came to her, taking her hands, as if afraid she would vanish in front of him. “Dave…” Dave smiled, tears in his eyes.

“Y-You’re ok…” He wiped his eyes, starting to chuckle. “Al…” Allison chuckled before pulling Dave closer and before kissing him said;

“Just kiss me you goof.” 


	13. Chapter 13

With Allison back and Susie already gone, everything seemed as though it was alright. Things returned to normal. Joey seemed genuinely happy. He was starting to remember why he’d gotten into the business of cartoons in the first place. Seeing all the children smile, it warmed his heart. It made him feel a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He didn’t mind being in Bendy’s body as much anymore. He was making people happy and that was all that mattered. 

“I haven’t heard you gripe in a nearly a week,” Murray commented as Joey perched on the edge of his desk, tail swishing back and forth. “Are you getting used to the new body?” 

“Yeah, I guess.” Joey shrugged. “I mean, it’s not so bad. I like being around the kids.”

“We might even be able to turn you back soon.” 

“Doesn’t matter.” Joey stared out the window of the office. Henry had created some Boris’ and an Alice to be around and to entertain the kids, and Joey could see some kids climbing all over a Boris. A few Butcher Gang members were running past with a small stampede of children following them. 

“It...doesn’t matter?” Murray raised an eyebrow. 

“I don’t care if I go back or not,” Joey said, smiling to himself. “I’m happy like this.”

“But what about your sister?” 

“My...” Joey trailed off his eyes widening. “Oh, my gods. My sister!” He jumped up from the desk and turned, slamming his hands down. “She has to have heard about the scandals going on here by now!”

“And?”

“AND SHE’S PROBABLY GOING TO COME HERE!” Joey’s form began to go a little gooey.

“I still don’t see why you’re freaking out.”

“You’re an older sibling, Murray.” Joey started pacing. “You have no idea the terror younger siblings can feel when they’ve done something wrong and their older sibling knows.” Murray kept staring at him, unsure what was going on exactly. 

“So you think she’s going to....shame you?” He said slowly. 

“Yes! And she’s a lawyer! She could shut us down!”

“Well, we’ve revamped everything and we’re up to code now.” Murray glanced outside, where Henry was talking to some children and parents. “So I don’t see how she could shut us down.”

“But black magic!” Joey waved his hands frantically. 

“Joey,” Murray said. “I’m confident your sister isn’t connected to the magical community.” Although, she probably would be furious when she found out just what her brother had been up to. But they’d cross that bridge once they came to it. A few minutes later, Henry entered the office.  

“What’s Joey freaking out about?” He could feel Joey’s fear and panic even from outside the office. 

“His sister’s probably going to show up,” Murray answered. 

“Of course he has a sister. Why am I not surprised?” Henry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you worried about your sister showing up, Joey?”

“Number 1, she’s my sister,” Joey said. “Number 2, she’s a lawyer. Did I mention that she’s my sister?!”

“Yes, you mentioned that she’s your sister.” Henry nodded. “Look, we have nothing to worry about, Joey. We’re up to code, no one except for you is a cartoon character. We’re fine. Everything is fine.” 

“Um, sir?” An employee opened up the door to Murray’s office. 

“Yes?” Henry slipped into business mode. “What is it?”

“There’s a man at the gates of the park and he’s causing a bit of a stir.” The employee said, fidgeting. “We’re not sure what to do. We can’t make him leave.”

“Want me to help?” Joey asked, smiling mischievously. 

“Yeah, sure.” Henry picked Joey up and put him on his shoulders before heading out with Murray at his heels. Murray had become a bit of an unofficial security measure for detaining any particularly nasty guests. One word and even the most volatile guest was docile. As they walked over, they saw Allison and Dave fleeing. 

“What’s going on?” Henry asked, catching Dave and Allison. 

“It’s my father,” Allison said, hunching her shoulders. Henry and Murray exchanged a glance, 

“I got this.” Murray took Allison and Dave back to his office, leaving Henry and Joey to deal with the irate Mister Pendle. Allison’s father was at the gates, calling the guards some less than savoury names. 

“What seems to be the problem here?” Henry asked, folding his arms and doing his best to be as intimidating as possible. 

“I want to see my daughter.” Mr Pendle demanded. Henry had a feeling this wasn’t going to go terribly well. 


	14. Chapter 14

...

“Your daughter?” Henry asked politely as Mr. Pendle scowled.

“Yes. My daughter. Allison. I have sources that she is here. And I wish to see her.  _ Now _ .” Henry took a deep breath.

“I am sorry sir, but for the safety of the park employees and our guests, I can’t let you enter here.” Mr. Pendle gave Henry a look.

“You cannot be serious. I finally get word of where my daughter is located, and you refuse to help me!? Don’t you understand the hell I’ve been through?!” Henry let out a sigh through gritted teeth.

“Sir. I am only going to ask one more time. Leave the park or I will call the authorities.” Mr. Pendle glared him down before huffing and storming out, growling something about contacting his lawyer. Once he was gone, Henry managed out a shaky sigh. He checked with the other security before making sure that the security team knew that Mr. Pendle was not to be let into the park and if he was to show up again to contact the police. Henry made it back to his office and slumped, drained being an understatement. Sure, Mr. Pendle was being a, albeit misguided, concerned parent, and he didn’t know that Henry was a widower and lost a child, so Mr. Pendle wouldn’t have known how hard his remark hit.

“Henry?” Henry slightly jumped, realizing that Joey was still on his shoulders. He smiled slightly.

“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts…”

“I could’ve pants him.” Henry looked at Joey. 

“Seriously?” Joey shrugged, trying to look like an innocent demon.

“It’s not illegal to pants someone last I checked! It would’ve been fine!.” Henry snickered as Joey offered his thoughts on how he could’ve help dealt with Mr. Pendle, thankfully distracting the man from the distressing feelings.

.

* * *

 

.

Murray sighed as he got the low down from the security team about what happened after allowing Allison and Dave into his office; Mr. Pendle had arrived, being an overly concerned parent, words were exchanged with him, Allison, and Dave, the older man convinced that Allison just needed to ‘return home’ and all would be fine before security tried to clear up the argument. Of course telling a wealthy closed-minded individual ‘no’ can never work, which caused the shouting match that led to him and Henry to try and help.

“Well, that happened…” He sighed, slumping onto a bench near the bumper cars, watching as a few Boris toons excitedly wait in line with the children to have a few rounds with the ride. He smiled slightly before he felt a strange change in the magical aura around the park. He quickly looked around quickly; the only magic here was his and Henry’s, there shouldn’t be any other magic nearby. There was elements of Joey’s magic here and there, but this sensation was nothing like Joey’s magic. Murray took a deep breath and tried to center himself, to try and see if he could figure out what this new magic aura was or who it belonged to. He frowned as he tried to focus; it seemed to be near the park, and it didn’t quite feel malicious, it was still heavy-

“Mr. Hill?” He snapped up as he saw the group of Boris toons and the children in front of him.

“O-Oh! Sorry, about that,” Murray said, forcing a smile. “I-I got distracted,” 

“Bumper cars!” One of the Boris toons exclaimed, pointing to the ride. “Let’s go!” Murray chuckled and allowed the children and Boris toons to lead him to the bumper car ride, making a note to talk to Henry about what he sensed.

.

* * *

 

.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this…” Esther chuckled as her children raced ahead to the entrance of the park. Her husband chuckled as he placed an arm around her.

“The kids’ got a long weekend, and you’ve got the same, and I’ve heard good things about the place. It’s a good family place, especially since the new revamp...” He smiled. “Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to rag on your brother for causing the best rant I’ve ever seen coming into your office based on finances.” Esther chuckled and rolled her eyes, remembering the incident at her work when Joey’s request to use the lot first came in.

“Cindy was furious at seeing what he asked for when he first proposed the park...it was certainly something…”

“Come on Mom! Dad! Let’s get into the park!!” Her youngest yelled, clearly excited. Her oldest looked equally excited, though she was trying to be ‘mature’ and hid her reaction. The two parents chuckled and exchange looks.

“Shall we see what mischief we can get into dear?” Esther laughed and gave her husband a peck on the cheek, much to the embarrassment of her children.

“Of course!”


	15. Chapter 15

When Robert had suggested they take the children to her brother’s amusement park, Esther hadn’t been sure it would be a good idea. A few employees had ended up in the hospital and/or suddenly quit and she was sure something was going on. But the kids had been so excited about the idea of visiting their uncle’s land of dreams. They didn’t see Joey too often, so Esther had relented and agreed to take Isaac and Rachel to Drew World. Besides, she would have been lying if she’d said she wasn’t curious to see what her brother had done. Joey had always been an ambitious man. He dreamed big. Bigger than was realistically possible in a lot of cases. 

“He didn’t do a bad job with this place,” Esther admitted, looking around. 

“Mom! Look! It’s Boris!” Isaac tugged on his mother’s sleeve, pointing at a Boris who was walking by. Esther’s eyes widened. She’d heard that Joey had brought his cartoons to life, but she hadn’t believed it was actually true. 

“He actually did it.” She whispered. 

“That’s gotta be a guy in a suit, right?” Rachel said, her eyes equally wide. “You don’t think he actually did it, do you?”

“I think he might have.” Esther couldn’t believe it. 

“And there’s Bendy!” Isaac jumped up and down, pointing at the little demon. He was sitting on the shoulders of a man who looked to be a little younger than Esther and Robert. The man was surrounded by a crowd of children who were all entranced by Bendy. 

“I’M GONNA TALK TO HIM!” Isaac streaked off. 

“Isaac!” Rachel yelled, running after him. Robert looked to Esther, both of them sighing before going after their children. Isaac loved animation, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Joey’s work was an inspiration for the boy. There wasn’t a day that went by where Isaac didn’t spend at least half an hour doodling Bendy, Alice, and Boris. Isaac stopped beside the man, jumping up and down excitedly. 

“Hey, there kiddo.” Bendy waved to Isaac.

“You’re real! You’re actually real!” Isaac squealed, unable to contain himself. 

“Sure am, buddy.” Bendy winked at him. “And it’s all thanks to this guy!” He ruffled the man’s hair. 

“I’m Henry, Joey’s business partner.” The man held out his hand to Isaac, who shook it excitedly.

“Don’t go running off like that!” Rachel finally reached her brother. “Mom’s going to kill me if I lose you!”

“But Bendy!” Isaac pointed to the little demon on Henry’s shoulders. “He’s  _ real _ , Rache!” Once Rachel actually got a look at Bendy, her eyes widened. 

“No way.” She whispered. 

“I know, I’m pretty awesome.” Bendy grinned. 

“Rachel, Isaac, you know better than to run off.” Esther walked up, Robert at her arm. “There are a lot of people here. You could get lost in the crowd.” Bendy froze upon seeing Esther, his eyes widening. 

“Esther?” He whispered in a voice that was distinctly different from his normal one. Esther stopped, then sighed heavily, starting to massage her temples. 

“Joseph Bartholomew Drew, you better have a good explanation for this.” She said. The children around Henry and Bendy all looked confused. 

“We’re going to take a little break,” Henry said, quickly recovering from the situation. “We’ll be back later.” He started walking away, gesturing for Esther and Robert to follow. 

“Why don’t you kids enjoy yourselves?” Robert suggested with a sunny smile. “I hear Alice Angel is doing a show at the pavilion.” Isaac was easily swayed by this while Rachel remained skeptical. Still, she let her brother drag her away. Once the kids were out of sight, Esther stormed after Henry. Robert followed her, holding her hand and trying to talk her out of giving Joey an earful. Unfortunately, as soon as they were in Joey’s office, Esther laid into him. 

“Would you mind explaining to me why you are a cartoon?” She demanded, poking a finger into his chest. 

“It’s, um, it’s a long story.” Joey smiled disarmingly. “Mind not poking me like that?”

“It’s his punishment,” Henry said. 

“Punishment for what exactly?” Esther asked, standing up a little straighter. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to be something she wanted to hear. Henry explained exactly what had transpired, at least to the best of his ability. By the end of the story, Esther was physically shaking. 

“Are you alright?” Robert whispered, rubbing her back. Joey drew into himself, tail wrapping around his knees. 

“How could you, Jojo?” Esther whispered, looking over at him with unshed tears glittering in her eyes. 

“I know.” Joey hung his head. “I’m...I’m trying to make things better, I swear. Henry put me in this body and I won’t be going back any time soon.” Esther moved away from her husband, picking him up and holding him to her chest. 

“Why didn’t you come to me?” She demanded. 

“What?” Joey blinked. 

“Why didn’t you come to me?” Esther repeated. It was obvious to her that her brother had been in a terribly dark place. It didn’t excuse what he did, but she couldn’t help but feel she could have prevented this. If she’d just been there for him, maybe he wouldn’t have taken such desperate measures. 

“Please don’t blame yourself.” Joey patted his sister’s back. “I know you’re doing it, don’t deny it. It was my fault, not yours.” 

“Well, you better believe I’m not leaving you  _ now _ ,” Esther said. “You’re going to be seeing a lot more of me from now on.”

“That’s...great.” Joey smiled weakly.


	16. Chapter 16

“This is so cool!!!” Isaac exclaimed as he spotted the bumper car rides on the way to the Angel’s Stage. “Look at all the Borisies!!” Rachel blinked slowly, a put off by the number of Boris characters. Her brother, however, was extremely excited as he waved at the Boris toons, who waved back before getting struck by another Boris’s car. 

“That’s….interesting.” Her brother groaned and looked at her.

“Come on Rachel, stop being all grown up all the time.” He argued. “It’s boring to put up with.” Rachel frowned.

“It’s not boring!” She argued. “I have to be mature and responsible! After all mom and dad entrusted me-”

“That doesn’t mean you have to be so dull all the time.” Before Rachel could retort, Murray stumbled out of the ride.

“Whoa...ok...I’m done…” He managed out as he leaned over the fence. “Man, you all take no prisoners….” He laughed as one of the Boris’s patted his back. Isaac ran over.

“How many Borisies are there?” He asked and the Boris patting Murray’s back stopped and started to count on his finger, tongue out as Rachel came back over, frustrated with her little brother and the weird thing her mother had said to the short actor in the Bendy costume; after all, there had to be a realistic reason, toons didn’t exist in real life, right? They had to be people in costumes or animatronics, right?!

“Pfft, I don’t know how many Henry created…” Murray said as the Boris tapped his shoulder and held up his hands, attempting to sign something. After a moment, Murray chuckled. “I don’t think there’s 688 Boris, that’s a bit much, and no I don’t think there needs to be that many to watch Bendy while Henry’s not in.” Boris made a face and Murray rolled his eyes. “Ok, ok, ok, I’ll bring it up to Henry, next I see him…”

“He’s talking with our mom.” Rachel said firmly and Murray raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? Why?” Isaac shrugged.

“She also called Bendy by our uncle’s name.” Murray paled slightly as he nodded.

“Oh. Ok…” He took a deep breath. “I guess I better go see what-”

“We’re coming too.” Rachel said sternly, surprising Isaac and Murray.

“Uh, why?” Isaac asked.

“Mom’s hiding something and I want to get answers!” She demanded and Isaac exchanged looks with Murray. Boris offered a sympathetic pat on the back before Murray led the two kids towards Henry’s office, preparing for the worst.


	17. Chapter 17

As Murray headed for Henry’s office with the children in tow, he felt it again. That heavy magic. It had entered the park now. He almost stopped as he felt the heavy magic sweep into the park. 

“Are you alright, sir?” Isaac asked. 

“I’m fine.” Murray shook his head, glancing over his shoulder before ushering the kids into Henry’s office. Esther was talking with Henry about legal issues while Robert caught Joey up on everything that had been happening in Rachel and Isaac’s lives.

“Mom! Mom!” Isaac ran over to his mother’s side. “We met a bunch of Borises and this guy!”

“Hi.” Murray waved weakly.

“I know you.” Esther said, narrowing her eyes. 

“What?”

“I know you.” Esther drew closer. “You’re the man who was part of that cult sacrifice.”

“Cult sacrifice?” Henry and everyone else said together. Joey avoided eye contact. Murray laughed nervously, shoving his hands self-consciously in his pocket. 

“Yeah...I, um, might’ve been in a cult for a little while.” He admitted. 

“That’s how I found him.” Joey said brightly. “The cult thought he was weak and tried to sacrifice him.”

“So this is why you didn’t want to press charges.” Esther raised an eyebrow. Murray nodded slightly, hunching his shoulders. He wasn’t exactly proud of the whole cult thing. Nor was he proud of what he’d done for Joey. But Joey had saved his life. He’d felt he owed the other man.

“What’s going on?” Esther demanded, stamping her foot. 

“It’s complicated, dear.” Robert put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. 

“But I want to know!”

“Rachel, why does it matter?” Isaac asked. “You don’t need to know everything, you know.”

“Yes I do!”

“Well, we’re going to be coming here a lot from now on, so you deserve to know why at the very least.” Esther sighed. Rachel turned and smirked at her brother. Her smirk quickly faded, though, as her mother explained everything that had happened. By the end of it, Rachel was left shaking and on the verge of tears. 

“Uncle Joey...Why?” She whispered, her lip quivering. Joey drew back, hunching his tiny shoulders. 

“It was a mistake.” He said. “I shouldn’t have done what I did.” But at the same time, he had awakened Henry’s potential as a creator, so maybe it hadn’t been all bad. No! He shook his head. He’d made a mistake and he needed to own up to it. He’d disappointed his family. He focused on the disappointed look on his niece’s face. 

“Well, at least Uncle Joey is trying to make things right.” Isaac said quietly.

“And if he slips, I  _ will _ be there.” Esther gave Joey a pointed look. 

“I’ll remember that.” Joey nodded.

“You better.” Esther said.

“How are you all okay with this?” Rachel demanded. “He killed two people!” 

“And he’s paying for it.” Henry tried to assure her. “He’s not going to get off scot free.”

“But he is!” Rachel said. “He just got turned into a little cartoon! He’s not paying back anything! You’re all just letting him get away with it!” She turned and ran out of the office, sobbing. 

“Rachel!” Isaac went after her, looking rather concerned. This left the adults alone in the office. They all looked at each other. 

“I’m sorry about her.” Esther said, leaning on her husband. “She has trouble dealing with her emotions sometimes. She feels things very deeply.”

“I understand.” Henry nodded. Joey just sat where he was, staring at his feet. He could get where she was coming from. He remembered Esther being like that when they’d been kids. Murray glanced back at the door. The presence from earlier was getting closer. He had to find out what it was. If could be something dangerous. 

“I’ll...I’ll be right back.” He said, going to the door. “There’s something I need to check out.” 

“We’ll be here.” Henry nodded towards him. Murray smiled slightly and slipped away. 


	18. Chapter 18

...

“Rachel!!” Isaac yelled as he tried to chase after his sister, but he couldn’t keep up and ended up losing sight of her and getting lost in the park. He sighed and slumped onto a bench, trying to catch his breath; why did his sister have to react like that? Granted, it was kinda freaky their mom was acting like that, if what she said about their uncle killing people was true, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about what happened!

“Why are you out of breath?” Isaac looked up and saw a girl slightly younger than his sister, standing in front of him.

“I’m chasing after my sister…” He grumbled. “She ran off after we found out our uncle’s a cartoon character...after he killed two people, if that makes any sense.” The girl nodded simply.

“That would be kind of surprising.” She admitted, chuckling. “Was she close to your uncle?” Isaac shrugged.

“Not that I know of...I mean she’s more like mom, being all grown up ‘n stuff...Admittedly it’s kinda funny to see her try and act like mom, cause nobody listens to her.” The girl snickered.

“I’m sorry for laughing, but that sounds a lot like a friend of mine, he tried so hard to be like his father that he ended up looking more like a rooster than his dad.” Isaac laughed.

“Aw man, that would be great to see!” He said before sighing. “Well, I better get back to looking for her…”

“I suppose so, perhaps you should try looking near the Lily Gardens, it’s straight that way.” Isaac nodded as he turned to look that direction.

“Alright, cool! Thanks for the…” he turned back and found that the girl had seemingly vanished. Isaac was stunned before shaking his head; he better go find his sister quickly.

.

* * *

 

.

“OFFPH!” Rachel stumbled back and landed on her rear.

“Ow...you ok?” Rachel looked at the man who was rubbing the back of his head.

“S-Sorry…” She mumbled as she got up. “I wasn’t paying attention….” She looked at the ground.

“That’s not what I asked…” She looked up at the man, who was looking at her in concern, and she couldn’t help but blush, he was pretty cute-looking, even if the security uniform he was in was a bit ridiculous. “Are you alright?” She nodded and the man chuckled. “That’s good to hear. I’m Joshua Foster, and you are…?”

“Rachel…” She said sheepishly.

“And where are your parents Miss Rach-”

“Rachel! There you are!!” Rachel went redder as her brother jogged over to her. “Finally!” Joshua chuckled.

“Glad to see you reunited with your sibling,” He said. “Your parents should be close behind, right?” 

“Well, they’re still with Mr. Henry and our uncle I think.” The man made an ‘ooh’ sound.

“You’re Joey’s niece and nephew, aren’t ya?”

“How do you know that?!” Rachel demanded.

“Considering he tried to turn me into Bendy and then proceeded to demand a piggyback ride for the past three weeks, I’ve heard a few things from him...Especially when he’s drunk off soda...which is a thing happens to toons apparently.” Both children’s eyes went wide, though admittedly for different reasons. Joshua chuckled. “You’ve probably hear it a lot, but he’s awfully proud of you two and wants to make you two happy. Joey’s blubbered on about the two of you…” Joshua paused as he saw Murray slink by. “Huh...I wonder what Murray’s up too…” He shook his head. “I’ll check later, but for now-” Rachel frowned.

“No! He’s probably doing some horrible cultist things!” She exclaimed. “You need to stop him before he kills someone!” Joshua was understandably perplexed as Rachel proceeded to drag him towards where Murray went. "Come on!"


	19. Chapter 19

Murray headed to the front of the park, his heart pounding in his chest. The presence was so familiar. He had a feeling he knew who he was going to find at the gate. And, unfortunately, he was right. Waiting for him, was one Alistair Ainsley. Once upon a time, Alistair had been the leader of the cult Murray had fled. However, a ritual had gone wrong and now the man who had been Alistair was gone. All that was left was a demon wearing Alistair’s body. Murray was far too familiar with the demon for his own liking.

“Mr Hill.” Alistair smiled easily. “So good to see you again.”

“What are you doing here, Ainsley?” Murray demanded. “I told you, I’m done. I don’t care what kind of blood debt you think I owe you, I’m not coming back.”

“You seem to think I’m here for you.” Alistair laughed. “No no, I’m here for Joey Drew.”

“For...For Joey? Why?”

“Well, I wanted to see just what kind of man he really is,” Alistair said. “After all, he did take you away from that little cult.”

“Why do you care?” Murray demanded, well aware of how hostile he sounded. He’d left that part of his life behind. He didn’t want it clawing its way back. He was making things right now. He was going to use his gifts for good.

“I’m just curious.” Alistair put his hands up. “You’re rather jumpy, Mr Hill. Has something happened?”

“Nothing’s happened!”

“Alright alright. Lower your voice. People are staring.”

Murray looked around, finding people were in fact staring. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He was getting all worked up over nothing. The demon was merely curious, it had said so.

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“You’re nervous I’m going to drag you back. I get it.” Alistair wrapped an arm around Murray’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I disbanded the cult. It was honestly a little distasteful. Not to mention, my bosses didn’t want anything to do with those nitwits.”

“You- It’s gone?” Murray’s eyes widened.

“Of course,” Alistair said. “I mean, they were a bunch of idiots playing with power beyond their comprehension.”

“Yeah.” Murray laughed nervously. That sounded quite a bit like Joey if he was being honest. “Now, um, Joey’s not a position to receive visitors right now.” Alistair raised an eyebrow, and for a moment Murray could have sworn the other man’s eyes turned red. But just as quickly as it had happened, it was gone, leaving Alistair looking just curious and concerned.

“Is he sick?” He asked.

“No, he’s…going through some things.” Murray smiled as reassuringly as he possibly could. “It’s a long story.”

“Well, I can come back another time.” Alistair let go of Murray, staring to head for the exit. “But I will be back. You don’t need to lie to me. I know what you’ve both done. And I need to talk to him about the souls he’s trapped in this place.” Then he was gone. Murray was left staring after him, dumbfounded.

“Hey, who was that?” Murray turned around to find Joshua walking up, with the Klein siblings following him. Rachel looked as though she’d been crying.

“He…Uh…He was here for Joey.” Murray mumbled.

“Is he from the cult?” Isaac asked, looking a little concerned.

“…Yes.” Murray’s shoulders slumped.

“What are you planning?!” Rachel demanded. “You better not be planning on hurting anyone!”

“I’m not planning anything,” Murray said, glancing over his shoulder.

“But you can’t say the same for you friend, I’m guessing,” Joshua concluded. Murray pursed his lips, nodding.

“Who is he anyway?” Joshua asked.

“He…Was the leader of the cult.” Murray said. “Now he’s possessed by a demon.” He lowered his voice so that no one but the three in front of him could hear the last part. Isaac and Rachel’s mouths hung open. Joshua just groaned. At this point, he had no more fucks to give.

“Okay. You might want to mention this to Joey.” Joshua said, tugging on the brim of his hat. “I think it’s something he really needs to know.” Murray nodded and walked away back to Joey’s office. He passed Esther and Robert on the way, both of whom apologized for Rachel’s behavior before collecting their children and leaving the park.

“We’ll be back.” Esther had told Joey with a pointed look.

“You sister seemed nice,” Henry said once he was alone with Joey. “I don’t understand why you were so worried.”

“Yes, but she’s my big sister,” Joey muttered, face in his hands. “My big sister who’s a lawyer and my parents’ favourite.”

“She obviously cares about you a lot, though.” Henry chuckled. “You’re lucky to have her.”

“…I know.”

“We have a situation.” Murray practically slammed the door open.

“Don’t slam the door.” Joey looked up. “It’s a very nice door.”

“What’s the situation?” Henry asked, suddenly rather concerned. Murray didn’t look particularly terrified, but he obviously was bothered. Murray explained as best he could, playing with his gloves as he did.

“Well, #$%,” Joey said once Murray was done.

“That’s not…great.” Henry admitted, scratching the back of his head. “I guess we’d better get ready for this.” Joey groaned, flopping face first onto the desk. He didn’t want to deal with this right now. But it did look like he was going to have to.


End file.
